"To the right was piled up these big bricks, like street bricks. I mean, they were heavy and there was maybe about 12 of them. So, he [officer] said 'Was this here before?' I said, 'No, no, this has got to be that group called the Anarchists,'" said Papia.

rufus-t-firefly:"To the right was piled up these big bricks, like street bricks. I mean, they were heavy and there was maybe about 12 of them. So, he [officer] said 'Was this here before?' I said, 'No, no, this has got to be that group called the Anarchists,'" said Papia.

Because anarchists are a united group.

They live in communes and are only robbing those storefronts at riots to give back to the community.

Epoch_Zero:rufus-t-firefly: "To the right was piled up these big bricks, like street bricks. I mean, they were heavy and there was maybe about 12 of them. So, he [officer] said 'Was this here before?' I said, 'No, no, this has got to be that group called the Anarchists,'" said Papia.

Because anarchists are a united group.

They live in communes and are only robbing those storefronts at riots to give back to the community.

They have a central, unifying structure though. That's why you can call "the Anarchists" simply "a group."

A bizarre image was spray-painted on a downtown building in Tampa, just days before the Republican National Convention.The image resembles a picture from the movie "V for Vendetta.

Jesus, it's not "bizarre", and yes, it is from V For Vendetta, are you people retarded, or did you just phone this in while getting a BJ at the bathhouse in the other story? Seriously, you're acting like this is some great mystery... It's just a farking graffiti artist, he even signed the farking thing.

THIS. THIS is what the decline of the printed newspaper is bringing us, shiat written at a second grade level, welcome to the future.

actually my thought was that this 'grafitti' marked where a 'free speech zone' was located... below... so this was to be a gathering spot for 'patriots' to put those ignorant libruhls in the free speech zone in their place... conveniently stocked with bricks and pipes (for any patriots that weren't already fully armed). This is like one of those 'spouse activities' that they set up for people attending the convention.

"But there's no doubt that there's a small percentage that will come here bent on destruction and disruption, and those are the individuals that we will deal with very quickly. Those are the individuals that left those items on that rooftop," said Chief Jane Castor of the Tampa Police Department.

"To the right was piled up these big bricks, like street bricks. I mean, they were heavy and there was maybe about 12 of them. So, he [officer] said 'Was this here before?' I said, 'No, no, this has got to be that group called the Anarchists,'"

.... And so begins the Republican strategy to destroy the Republican National Convention.

Those are the individuals that left those items on that rooftop," said Chief Jane Castor of the Tampa Police Department.

There appears to be no evidence of correlation between the construction materials and the graffiti. They just happened to be observed at the same time in the same area. Being a police chief one would realize this but instead she makes an unfounded claim about exactly who left them on the rooftop.

To the right was piled up these big bricks, like street bricks. I mean, they were heavy and there was maybe about 12 of them. So, he [officer] said 'Was this here before?' I said, 'No, no, this has got to be that group called the Anarchists Carpenters and Masons,'" said Papia.

randomjsa:And just like the OWS movement, when they cause trouble and police do something about it, they'll stand up for what they believe in...

By posting videos on the internet and crying like the small misbehaved children they are.

Like Scott Olsen and other Veterans for Peace? You know, people who actually fought for this country and defended what it stands for? Instead of flying in a jet in circles over the US while high on coke because daddy made sure you don't have to go to war? And then get shot in the head with teargas canisters for trying to use those rights they fought for? Are those people you call "misbehaved children"?

dittybopper:Mikey1969: THIS. THIS is what the decline of the printed newspaper is bringing us, shiat written at a second grade level, welcome to the future.

Bullshiat. It's *ALWAYS* been like that, it's the nature of print journalism. It's just that now, we can easily and individually check out their sources and show them to be full of it.

Nah, when I was a kid, print journalism was held up as an example of quality over quantity, when compared to broadcast journalism. Print journalism used to actually have grammar and fact checking, they didn't slough off the facts and let Spellcheck handle everything else. The shiat has been seriously and noticeably going downhill just in the last 10 years. It was far from perfect before, but it wasn't the total joke it is now.

Rich Cream:Those are the individuals that left those items on that rooftop," said Chief Jane Castor of the Tampa Police Department.

There appears to be no evidence of correlation between the construction materials and the graffiti. They just happened to be observed at the same time in the same area. Being a police chief one would realize this but instead she makes an unfounded claim about exactly who left them on the rooftop.

Mikey1969:A bizarre image was spray-painted on a downtown building in Tampa, just days before the Republican National Convention.The image resembles a picture from the movie "V for Vendetta.

Jesus, it's not "bizarre", and yes, it is from V For Vendetta, are you people retarded, or did you just phone this in while getting a BJ at the bathhouse in the other story? Seriously, you're acting like this is some great mystery... It's just a farking graffiti artist, he even signed the farking thing.

THIS. THIS is what the decline of the printed newspaper is bringing us, shiat written at a second grade level, welcome to the future.

The Democratic party is pro-business, pro-corporation and have never, ever, had the dismantling of corporations on their party platform. They are to the right of center, and are more pro-business than the average American taxpayer. Their values are pretty much in line with, though not locked on to, mainstream Christianity.

The Republican party is pro big-business, pro inherited-wealth and inherited position. They are opposed to a person born to a lower or middle class background having the opportunity to innovate or bring themselves up in the world. The GOP is the party of stomping anything low that is still moving.

If you want to find a real socialist or communist, somebody that could really benefit from redistribution of wealth, don't look at American politics. Look at the people that made wealth possible, but have no voice in government, nearly zero rights in the courts and are only spoken of in English for the point of slandering them; look at the people picking produce in the field. 18 hour days, $2.00 or less an hour, paying 1/3rd of their income in taxes, kids are in school for five weeks before being moved to another district. Unless you're debating one of these folks, you're not talking to a socialist. If you can picture being in their shoes and still being a Republican, you're insane.

Every time I hear somebody that's not a field worker a "Liberal", I consider the speaker to be an idiot. Probably one that's never had to work.

Marcintosh:To the right was piled up these big bricks, like street bricks. I mean, they were heavy and there was maybe about 12 of them. So, he [officer] said 'Was this here before?' I said, 'No, no, this has got to be that group called the Anarchists Carpenters and Masons,'" said Papia.

Wait, the convention is a few days away, and this wasn't all found by the secret service? Even for a candidate you would think they would do pretty intense advanced work. Or the secret service saw it, said meh, and moved on. Is it common for someone planning some sort of terrorist act to mark their target first?

You think the Secret Service is supposed to track and/or stop GRAFFITTI? And bricks?

You have a very generous peception of the capabilities of the Secret Service. Especially considering there was neither hookers nor blow involved.

No, I'm saying I would have thought they would have found all that doing advance work instead of some random maint. man. I'm not saying they should stop/track it. I'm saying they would probably ignore it. They probably know the difference between a tagged piece of art and a credible threat.

tarheel07:FTFA: "Police said crews were sent out to paint over the image."

I'm surprised budget cuts haven't given police this job yet.

Here's the thing, if that job had previously been one for the police department, it would have been cut and privatized, because government is bad and private enterprise is inherently efficient. And yet, cops might still end up doing the work because as their salaries get slashed to balance budgets, they're out looking for moonlight jobs to make ends meet at home.

Getting there... Have to throw in an anecdote though; friend's girlfriend wasn't even walking in 93, yet she loves 'em. This is doubly amusing considering he and I went to see a lot of these shows as teenagers.

Mikey1969:dittybopper: Mikey1969: THIS. THIS is what the decline of the printed newspaper is bringing us, shiat written at a second grade level, welcome to the future.

Bullshiat. It's *ALWAYS* been like that, it's the nature of print journalism. It's just that now, we can easily and individually check out their sources and show them to be full of it.

Nah, when I was a kid, print journalism was held up as an example of quality over quantity, when compared to broadcast journalism. Print journalism used to actually have grammar and fact checking, they didn't slough off the facts and let Spellcheck handle everything else. The shiat has been seriously and noticeably going downhill just in the last 10 years. It was far from perfect before, but it wasn't the total joke it is now.

No, It only *SEEMED* like they had fact-checking. Yellow journalism is as old as journalism itself, and even the so-called gold standards, when held up to a microscope, prove to be iron pyrite. Journalists back before the Internet age were just as biased, just as sloppy, it's just that they were largely the only gatekeepers of information, and thus it was almost impossible to fact-check them in any meaningful way. It would take too long and too much effort to dig up the necessary information quickly, and really the only organizations with the resources to do something like that were the news organizations themselves, and they understandably wouldn't be too keen on making themselves look less trustworthy.

Ever had first hand knowledge of a news story, or even a subject which you have in-depth knowledge of, and subsequently read an article about it or watched a news story, and you notice they got some fundamental fact wrong? But then you believe what they report about something you don't directly know about? Ever wonder about that phenomenon?

On the rooftop of a building in a [FLORIDA] metropolis,RNC beset by image synonymous with Anonymous,prior to a rally monotonous and full of pompousness,for the party of the pachyderm and Wal-Mart hippopotamus.A pile of random masonry is, granted, somewhat ominous,but hardly represents a vital threat to Tampa's populace.They'll be rounded up, locked down, then released on own recognizance--a practice of state dominance that is sadly not anomalous.My somnolence and apathy for this story is, yet, bottomless.

/In the less than immortal words of Maddox, which for some reason come to mind://"Because when people think of Che Guevera, they tend to think of Che the Revolutionary, and not Che the Pinko Commie Murder Machine."

You think the Secret Service is supposed to track and/or stop GRAFFITTI? And bricks?

You have a very generous peception of the capabilities of the Secret Service. Especially considering there was neither hookers nor blow involved.

No, I'm saying I would have thought they would have found all that doing advance work instead of some random maint. man. I'm not saying they should stop/track it. I'm saying they would probably ignore it. They probably know the difference between a tagged piece of art and a credible threat.

Mikey1969:dittybopper: Mikey1969: THIS. THIS is what the decline of the printed newspaper is bringing us, shiat written at a second grade level, welcome to the future.

Bullshiat. It's *ALWAYS* been like that, it's the nature of print journalism. It's just that now, we can easily and individually check out their sources and show them to be full of it.

Nah, when I was a kid, print journalism was held up as an example of quality over quantity, when compared to broadcast journalism. Print journalism used to actually have grammar and fact checking, they didn't slough off the facts and let Spellcheck handle everything else. The shiat has been seriously and noticeably going downhill just in the last 10 years. It was far from perfect before, but it wasn't the total joke it is now.

First of all, fact-checking didn't exist until the mid 1920s; Time and the New Yorker pretty much invented it as a discipline.

But fact checking went out the window at Time & Newsweek in the mid-90s; at a lot of publications, it only happens when a reporter regularly draws complaints (see: Alessandra Stanley). Daily newspapers have always relied on reporters to get it right the first time.

You're arguing that it's somehow a coordinated effort to dumb down the discussion, when the record shows that it's more about profits. Fact checkers and copy editors cost money that is better spent on the houses of publishers and other executives.

But why on earth you're complaining about the lowered standards of print journalism in a thread where TFA is from a TV station is beyond me.

So a Guy Fawkes (the extremist Roman Catholic terrorist caught red-handed with the dynamite to blow up the seat of elected government) corporate image appears just before the republican convention/hurrican watch.

I figured Romney was going to step down and let Rand Paul Ryan run for president and lef the government pay for the tools of its own destruction. Guido Fawkes would be so proud.

Graffito:It would help if there were a percent sign, otherwise it looks like 'gg' to me.

Sure, but if they had to spell it out for you, it wouldn't be hipster insider code, now would it?You have to use 'insider' symbols and imagery, otherwise it's not clever! duh.

It's clear in the Context. The OWS movement made use of the V for Vendetta Guy Fawkes mask as well and that mask is pretty much synonomous with anarchism long before V for Vendetta or Anonymous hackers. (which is why they use it). "We are the 99" left and right. The whole "99" has become shorthand for the movement.

dittybopper:Mikey1969: dittybopper: Mikey1969: THIS. THIS is what the decline of the printed newspaper is bringing us, shiat written at a second grade level, welcome to the future.

Bullshiat. It's *ALWAYS* been like that, it's the nature of print journalism. It's just that now, we can easily and individually check out their sources and show them to be full of it.

Nah, when I was a kid, print journalism was held up as an example of quality over quantity, when compared to broadcast journalism. Print journalism used to actually have grammar and fact checking, they didn't slough off the facts and let Spellcheck handle everything else. The shiat has been seriously and noticeably going downhill just in the last 10 years. It was far from perfect before, but it wasn't the total joke it is now.

No, It only *SEEMED* like they had fact-checking. Yellow journalism is as old as journalism itself, and even the so-called gold standards, when held up to a microscope, prove to be iron pyrite. Journalists back before the Internet age were just as biased, just as sloppy, it's just that they were largely the only gatekeepers of information, and thus it was almost impossible to fact-check them in any meaningful way. It would take too long and too much effort to dig up the necessary information quickly, and really the only organizations with the resources to do something like that were the news organizations themselves, and they understandably wouldn't be too keen on making themselves look less trustworthy.

Wow, that's a broad brush you use. It doesn't seem to account for the inherent differences between a monthly, a weekly, a once-daily print, and 24x7 coverage.

As for self-policiing, I'd argue that it's better now in many ways, because in the old days, you didn't have media blogs reporting that so-and-so in San Antonio got canned for lifting grafs from a guy in Boise. It's far from perfect, as we saw with Fareed Zakaria, but overall, the system usually works.

Ever had first hand knowledge of a news story, or even a subject which you have in-depth knowledge of, and subsequently read an article about it or watched a news story, and you notice they got some fundamental fact wrong? But then you believe what they report about something you don't directly know about? Ever wonder about that phenomenon?

You publish the story you have, because you can't publish the story you want to have. Getting a minor detail wrong isn't the end of the world even if it annoys those who think they have perfect knowledge, while getting a fundamental fact wrong will bring in the lawyers; most errors of fact fall between the two.

So, on a personal note, what do you do when they get some fundamental fact wrong? Do you contact them and politely point out their error? Or do you get snotty about it? Because I guarantee you, one works better than the other does.

dittybopper:Ever had first hand knowledge of a news story, or even a subject which you have in-depth knowledge of, and subsequently read an article about it or watched a news story, and you notice they got some fundamental fact wrong? But then you believe what they report about something you don't directly know about? Ever wonder about that phenomenon?

A few years ago, I was interviewed about a computer security class I took in college in which students had the opportunity to write actual viruses. The reporter asked what sort of work we had found after graduating, and by coincidence, I had gotten a job as a programmer with a defense contractor immediately after I got my degree. By the time the article got to print, it said that I was working as a consultant to the CIA.

BojanglesPaladin:Graffito: It would help if there were a percent sign, otherwise it looks like 'gg' to me.

Sure, but if they had to spell it out for you, it wouldn't be hipster insider code, now would it?You have to use 'insider' symbols and imagery, otherwise it's not clever! duh.

It's clear in the Context. The OWS movement made use of the V for Vendetta Guy Fawkes mask as well and that mask is pretty much synonomous with anarchism long before V for Vendetta or Anonymous hackers. (which is why they use it). "We are the 99" left and right. The whole "99" has become shorthand for the movement.

sp86:I'm sure they'll point to these scrawls when the Black Bloc kiddies show up to crash the party, trying to equate Black Bloc with Anonymous. Not that there's not some overlap.

Black Bloc won't even show up, the closest they got was a few locals and a few Agent provocateurs committing vandalism because they were vandals and then others making up the story that they were part of any organization.

Since Tampa doesn't have a large underclass and massively mutually antagonistic police/citizenry paradigm like Oakland even that won't happen.

You know for street art that ain't bad, skill-wise. I mean it's no Lost Da Vinci, but it has clean lines and doesn't look to have been stenciled.

TheBigJerk:I mean it's no Lost Da Vinci, but it has clean lines and doesn't look to have been stenciled.

That doesn't look stenciled to you? The mask certainly does to me, as well as the 99 (the stencil breaks are why so many people thing they are "g"s), though the hat, hat and cloak seem to be done by hand.

I see better work everyday driving around Houston. Saw some amazing stuff in Dublin.

BojanglesPaladin:TheBigJerk: I mean it's no Lost Da Vinci, but it has clean lines and doesn't look to have been stenciled.

That doesn't look stenciled to you? The mask certainly does to me, as well as the 99 (the stencil breaks are why so many people thing they are "g"s), though the hat, hat and cloak seem to be done by hand.

I see better work everyday driving around Houston. Saw some amazing stuff in Dublin.

Stencil-artist here...that's DEFINITELY stenciled. Here's a link to some of my stuff: Link

Anarchists smash windows and rob stores in order to directly attack capitalism in a very real, physical, and financial sense. and to get attention (although T.V.s are nice too). Thuggish psychopaths generally are not willing to go up against riot police just for a T.V., it takes ideological dedication for that. The effectiveness of these kinds of tactics are actually a widespread topic of debate among anarchists, the "violent" ones just get more time on the news.

People wear Guy Fawkes mask because of V for Vendetta. The main character of V for Vendetta wore the mask only to scare the hell out of those in power, and because of the similarities between their plans (blow up parliament), not because he actually liked Guy Fawkes. At least, that's what I got out of the movie, I unfortunately haven't read the comic it was based upon.

Agree or disagree with the philosophies and political views, but know them first.

SubBass49:You guys speculating about who did this are HILARIOUS BTW...first result under teh google search for Dekko and stencil* is a stencil artist by the name of Dekko from Tampa Bay. DUURRRRRRRR...

Of course he's scrubbed all of the resulting pages of his content by now...

Marcintosh:To the right was piled up these big bricks, like street bricks. I mean, they were heavy and there was maybe about 12 of them. So, he [officer] said 'Was this here before?' I said, 'No, no, this has got to be that group called the Anarchists Carpenters and Masons,'" said Papia.

Now I'm just imagining an Anarchist Guild.Although to be fair, your correction is probably alot more appropriate. Considering trade union movements and anarchist movements had alot of overlap to the point that anarcho-syndicalism is it's own school of though and red/black CNT-FAI Spanish Civil War colors are the most recognized symbols of anarchy.

GardenWeasel:SubBass49: You guys speculating about who did this are HILARIOUS BTW...first result under teh google search for Dekko and stencil* is a stencil artist by the name of Dekko from Tampa Bay. DUURRRRRRRR...

Of course he's scrubbed all of the resulting pages of his content by now...

Mighty fine police work there Lou from Tampa Bay!

Who the artist is is not the issue. Who paid them to do it is.

Knowing as many stencilists as I do, he likely did it for a combination of lulz, fame, and adrenaline rush. He's got all three nailed down as of now, thanks to the news thinking this was worth covering. lol

The A.I.S.B.Anarchists smash windows and rob stores in order to directly attack capitalism in a very real, physical, and financial sense. and to get attention (although T.V.s are nice too). Thuggish psychopaths generally are not willing to go up against riot police just for a T.V., it takes ideological dedication for that. The effectiveness of these kinds of tactics are actually a widespread topic of debate among anarchists, the "violent" ones just get more time on the news.

You are the wind beneath my wings.

People wear Guy Fawkes mask because of V for Vendetta. The main character of V for Vendetta wore the mask only to scare the hell out of those in power, and because of the similarities between their plans (blow up parliament), not because he actually liked Guy Fawkes. At least, that's what I got out of the movie, I unfortunately haven't read the comic it was based upon.

You should read it, it's great.

IMO the reason for the mask was to be the original trollface, not because V agreed with Fawkes but because of the "omg why would you ever do that" effect. Just to fark with everyone; to add to the image of invincibility by not only carrying out these incredibly audacious acts but to give the impression he was doing it almost lazily.

The A.I.S.B.:People wear Guy Fawkes mask because of V for Vendetta. The main character of V for Vendetta wore the mask only to scare the hell out of those in power, and because of the similarities between their plans (blow up parliament), not because he actually liked Guy Fawkes. At least, that's what I got out of the movie, I unfortunately haven't read the comic it was based upon.

Agree or disagree with the philosophies and political views, but know them first.

Well that and like the black bloc is not an organization, just a tactic for protection and anonymity, Anonymous, despite their real life failings and arrests are supposed to be anonymous. The Guy Fawkes mask is a way of staying well, anonymous and also picking up on a viral meme (and even then, it was a leap just for Anonymous to become activists. It was originally just a way of describing the collective attitude/atmosphere of the imageboards people posted on where they were all just labeled "anonymous". The GF mask works because the imageboards pretty much crank out or modify every internet/culture meme). And the author of V for Vendetta is an anarchist himself.

RanDomino:IMO the reason for the mask was to be the original trollface, not because V agreed with Fawkes but because of the "omg why would you ever do that" effect. Just to fark with everyone; to add to the image of invincibility by not only carrying out these incredibly audacious acts but to give the impression he was doing it almost lazily.

This is another reason it translates well. Anonymous started out as more nihilist trolling than political activists. Something that has a trolling attitude like the GF mask adds to it. Plus since V was a political revolutionary, it ties in even neater with the new purpose of activism.